Climate Change in the American Mind: October, 2015

The October 2015 survey indicates that 67% of Americans believe global warming is occurring, with 53% attributing it primarily to human activity. While worry about global warming increased between spring and fall 2015, pessimism regarding the ability to successfully reduce it is growing, with only 4% believing humans can and will succeed. A majority of Americans believe corporations, citizens, and the U.S. government should do more to address the issue. Additionally, the report identifies 'The Francis Effect,' noting that Pope Francis's teachings have specifically influenced the views and concerns of Catholic Americans.

• A majority of Americans believe global warming is happening, though there is a split on its cause: 67% believe it is occurring, while 53% believe it is mostly human caused and 33% attribute it to natural environmental changes.
• Public concern and perceived risk of harm from global warming increased between spring and fall 2015, particularly regarding harm to future generations (70%), people in developing countries (61%), and people in the U.S. (56%).
• There is significant pessimism regarding the capacity to mitigate global warming; only 4% of respondents believe humans can and will successfully reduce it, while 26% believe failure is due to an unwillingness to change behavior.
• A majority of Americans believe that corporations and industry (72%), citizens (67%), and the United States (64%) should increase their efforts to address global warming.
• The report identifies 'The Francis Effect,' where Pope Francis's teachings influenced the views of Catholic Americans; 77% of Catholics trust the Pope as an information source on global warming compared to 56% of non-Catholics.

APA

Team, M. 4. (2015). Climate Change in the American Mind: October, 2015. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/october-2015-climate-change-american-mind/

Chicago

Team, Mason 4C. Climate Change in the American Mind: October, 2015. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2015. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/october-2015-climate-change-american-mind/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=Mason 4C |title=Climate Change in the American Mind: October, 2015 |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=10 October 2015 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/october-2015-climate-change-american-mind/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2015climate, author = {Team, Mason 4C}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: October, 2015}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/october-2015-climate-change-american-mind/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }